Jason Eck nearly quit coaching to sell turf, now he’s one of the hottest names in college football

Kimberly Eck walked into the hospital to visit her doctor on the morning of Dec. 23, 2010. She was due in January, and she wanted reassurance that the baby was on track to arrive in the new year. A Christmas birthday, she figured, was the worst birthday a kid could get.

The doctor told her not to worry. She wasn't dilated and there were zero signs of an imminent birth.

That night, Jason Eck came home late from work at Ball State. The Cardinals had fired Stan Parrish a month earlier, and new coach Pete Lembo had spent some time evaluating the staff and he made his decision on the offensive line coach. Eck was fired..

"I went into labor that night and had him on Christmas Eve," Kimberly said. "Literally, it was like my fastest delivery, two hours. So it had to have been stress."

That baby, Palmer Eck, is now a sophomore quarterback at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque. His father, a burly, larger-than-life former offensive lineman with a personality to match, is now the coach at New Mexico and one of the hottest names on college football's coaching carousel.

New Mexico had two winning seasons in…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/